Full system before buying GPU

[Static~Charge]

FYI - The power supply in the Lenovo ThinkCentre machines is non-standard (see here). It has a 14-pin power connector on the motherboard, versus the standard 24-pin connector. To install a beefier power supply, you will have to:

1) Buy a PSU that is made for the Lenovo ThinkCentre (difficult to find one)
or
2) Buy an adapter that lets you plug a standard power supply into the motherboard (here is one on Amazon for $6 U.S.)

 

[Ferrum Master]

He needs something like this, and someone to do a rewiring, then he is safe to go with anything.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DC6TSUW/?tag=tec06d-20

EDIT.

Oh, there is even an adapter! Then here is the solution combo. And that PSU is crap, need to find a better one. But the main clue are the dell models.

 

[alucasa]

That PSU and 750 ti would go nicely, me thinks.

 

[EdInk]

Interesting!

 

[thebluebumblebee]

which OP should remember from his older thread on this topic

Ok thank you all for advices. So ill upgrade and play some newer games.

@JunkBear , you have some explaining to do. Please don't waste out time rehashing the same thing.

Check out what I saw at thatAmazon:
Question: does this require external power? Answer: No is does not. I'm using it with a 240 watt power supply.

80w left for GPU I would think. I have a similar system and it has 3 drives and pulls 107w running Linpack

@JunkBear , this is one of the most informative posts here. It shows that you have better than 50% of your PSU's capacity unused. A 70 watt (worst case) GTX 750 Ti will* be just fine.
* My only hesitation is that your system is a proprietary system. If those were normal components that we all use to build systems, then this would be an absolute no brainer.

 

[Kursah]

I have a lot of experience with the M73s SFF and mini towers. Junk. Sell it if you plan on gaming...it was designed as a very budget oriented office use option...not a gaming PC.

Their MBs are crap....the worst thing is data storage/memory performance is atrocious. Even with an SSD it is disappointing...but better than an HDD obviously.

We sell a lot of M73s for budget office users...but even the builds I do around the same price run circles around the Lenovos. Being a distributor and seller for their products we even compared the old M72 to the M73 and the M73s performance was slower both in measured tests between startup, data transfer and benchmarks and in just general use A/B comparisons.

If you must use it for gaming....on that SFF you need a half height card... And odds are that card will not be a potent gaming card. That PSU can handle CAD cards with ease though. But again...overall system performance is quite disappointing.

Sell it, buy used Haswell parts is a standard case and be much happier.

I used to build Biostar B85S3+ + Pentium G3220 (or i3/5/7) + HDD/SSD with an EVGA 550w PSU in a Cooler Master N200...and that Pentium build would dominate an i3 M73 all day long in everything. We had demos go out to several customers, my bosses were in disbelief until we did a side-by-side on the bench. Needless to say if you can still pick up a Biostar B85S3+ on Newegg for $58 USD...its worth every penny for a solid budget Haswell build.

If you insist on wasting time and money repurposing that M73 for a use it was never designed or intended...get a better PSU...cut a hole in the lid and use a full height 750 ti. Don't expect your benchmark or FPS results to match what you read about others achieving with i3s and GTX 750s though. M73s are crippled budget junk that's a glorified spreadsheet editor at best...web browser for cloud based work sources by design.

 

[rtwjunkie]

Let's assume the power supply is 80% efficient so it can deliver 190W of real power.

I'm assuming you don't mean efficiency, but are trying to account for capacitor aging? They are two different things.

 

[Frick]

I used to build Biostar B85S3+ + Pentium G3220 (or i3/5/7) + HDD/SSD with an EVGA 550w PSU in a Cooler Master N200...and that Pentium build would dominate an i3 M73 all day long in everything. We had demos go out to several customers, my bosses were in disbelief until we did a side-by-side on the bench. Needless to say if you can still pick up a Biostar B85S3+ on Newegg for $58 USD...its worth every penny for a solid budget Haswell build.

I wouldn't believe it either, and if fact I don't. How can they make a 3.4Ghz i3 slower than the 3Ghz G3220? And why would the SSD's perform significantly worse if you hook them up to the 6GB/s ports? That the SSD's are slower than in other systems sure, but not a lot. The chipset is the same, the controllers are the same.

The other stuff might be true though, my experience with these types of office machines are with the very pleasant HP Elite series. I totally see why he wants to use is. The size is nice and the CPU is good.

 

[Kursah]

Just telling you my experience with these systems, I've deployed 100s of them, and built dozens of PC's that performed better that shouldn't have. The chipset is the same, but the cheap ass custom boards they use greatly limit these machines. That i3 is a good chip, but is gimped by the cheap board. Lenovo does a good job of being super cheap on prices...and they skimp the most on the mainboard...I didn't believe it either and am not bothered by anyone that doesn't believe me. I've done the bench tests, repeatedly. For me, it is experience with these machines and constantly having issues with their SATA ports, drive speed, defective boards (we've replaced far more than in the M72's), among other issues. It's a turd that's been lightly polished...it's still a turd.

The i3 is about the only saving grace for that system...the hub is the limiting factor, and the hub is the mainboard.

Feel free to buy an M73, and go build the cheap system I suggest, come back and LMK what your results are.

 

[JunkBear]

i5-4430 is inside my rig

 

[JrRacinFan]

Lets kill 2 birds, one stone

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147123
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139026
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128693
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150716


Anyone got an LGA1150 cooler they can send over to 'em?

 

[Kursah]

I have a spare OEM Intel 1150 cooler I can send for the cost of shipping. Never used.

Edit: I should add he won't need it, the cooler that comes with the Lenovo will fit and is sufficient and is pretty much the same cooler.

 

[JrRacinFan]

Hell if you don't mind a refurb neweggs got HD7770's for $59

 

[jboydgolfer]

buy the 750Ti. I just put one in my nephews Dell optiplex SFF7010 which is tiny as fuk. iirc it has a 250w PSUsff, and it run beautifully after the upgrade NO crashes. no power plugs are required if you buy the right one, I went with this one here...

runs gta5 , COD whatever the latest is, fallout 4 just fine.

 

[Kursah]

750Ti is a damn good performer for a small and affordable card. Tough to beat on a budget. What's the model # of that card?

 

[thebluebumblebee]

What's the model # of that card?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...27836&cm_re=gtx_750_ti-_-14-127-836-_-Product

 

[Kursah]

Dont' see a half-height bracket with it...but the reviews for it are promising. One guy used one in a Dell Optiplex 780 SFF with a 235W PSU with success. Makes it a win if the OP sticks with the M73 SFF in my book.

 

[JunkBear]

I already have the system and many others I dont want to buy one more. I just want to do a simple upgrade of gpu. Also with weaknessof Canadian dollar all cost and shipping are going through the roof.

 

[JrRacinFan]

750Ti is a damn good performer for a small and affordable card. Tough to beat on a budget. What's the model # of that card?

And to add

Dont' see a half-height bracket with it...but the reviews for it are promising. One guy used one in a Dell Optiplex 780 SFF with a 235W PSU with success. Makes it a win if the OP sticks with the M73 SFF in my book.

Full ATX conversion stil an option too with that card at a later time if wanted. The linked 750 ti gets my vote if budget is less than $200 for the conversion.

You're not getting a new system, just futureproofing it a little.

 

[Kursah]

I already have the system and many others I dont want to buy one more. I just want to do a simple upgrade of gpu. Also with weaknessof Canadian dollar all cost and shipping are going through the roof.

Well then, best of luck to ya. Get that 750 Ti linked above and /thread.

 

[Ferrum Master]

That picture... my eyes That plastic bag

 

[JunkBear]

So I have couple choices:

NVIDIA 750 Ti
GeForce GT 730 or 740

Gonna go with this one I think. More clock for only 49 watts and a cooling setup that is long enough to blow out hte hot air in the back holes.

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127830

 

[Kursah]

If you don't want 1080p gaming with decent quality settings, go 730. If you want 1080p gaming with medium-max settings go 750 Ti...If you're doing media stuff, stick with onboard.

Depends on what your goal is, beyond slapping a GPU in that M73 you have there...not sure what that truly is..maybe I missed it in the frey.

I suppose budget-wise the 730 seems like a fit, and reviews well. But the 750 Ti is sooooo much more powerful, it'll last you longer, and sips a little more power for a lot more performance...if you can swing it, it's a no-brainer with gaming in mind.

 

[JunkBear]

The 750 Ti sucks over 60 watts which I dont really have in this setup.

 

[JrRacinFan]

The 750 Ti sucks over 60 watts which I dont really have in this setup.

How do you figure?
http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/palit_geforce_gtx_750_ti_kalmx_review,5.html

Here's the test setup.
http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/palit_geforce_gtx_750_ti_kalmx_review,9.html

At full load CPU(your i5)+GPU only, ~170W.